Quake strikes near Papua New Guinea

A powerful earthquake shook Papua New Guinea's northern coast, but there was no threat of a widespread tsunami in the Pacific.

PUBLISHED: 01:00, Wed, Apr 17, 2013

An earthquake with a magnitude of nearly 7 has struck near Papua New Guinea [PA]

The shallow magnitude-6.8 earthquake struck about 11 miles east of the small town of Aitape, where disaster authorities have not yet been able to contact people.

It is possible that residents headed to higher ground as soon as they felt the earthquake and were not immediately reachable, said Chris McKee, the assistant director of the Geophysical Observatory in the capital, Port Moresby.

He said there were no reports or indications of a tsunami.

He said people in the town of Vanimo, about 89 miles from the epicentre, reported they had felt the quake strongly. There were no initial reports of damage or injuries.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, based on historical data, a quake of this strength has the potential to generate localised tsunamis within 62 miles of the epicentre.

The US Geological Survey said the quake was at a depth of eight 8 miles, which is relatively shallow. Shallow quakes can potentially cause more damage at the surface.

Papua New Guinea is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.